The field of behavioral health is changing rapidly. From innovative new web applications that help people take charge of their treatment and recovery to upgraded crisis facilities that offer serene environments, we're changing the way we care ...

I was the keynote speaker recently at a national Patient Engagement Symposium I opened my presentation by asking the audience how many considered themselves to be engaged in their health. You know…just a show of hands. Everyone in the room appeared...

Healthcare in America is evolving rapidly and so the providers of care must evolve with it. Pay-for-performance is replacing fee-for-service, so provider reimbursements will be based on their compliance with...

Most patients react positively to being able to view their clinical laboratory results online, according to a new study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and published in the Journal of Participatory Medicine, Clinical Innovation & Technology reports.

The study found that patients who viewed their lab reports online felt:

Perspective from The New England Journal of Medicine — Shared Decision Making — The Pinnacle of Patient-Centered Care (Shared Decision Making — The Pinnacle of Patient-Centered Care — NEJM http://t.co/QDk3yJSn...

It appears that people feel competent to take on a greater role in shared decision making, self-diagnosis or assessment of symptoms, and information collecting on conditions – even before seeing the doctor.

Hospitals are only recently starting to invest time and effort in their blogs – but many organizations struggle to understand what they should write about. (These blog ideas for your #hospital or physician website can improve #patient engagement!

DO HEALTHY PATIENTS HAVE HIGHER EXPECTATIONS OR DO SICKER PATIENTS HAVE MORE UNMET NEEDS? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH STATUS & PATIENT NEEDS

Tracy Walsh's insight:

"the elements of care that are most impacted by health status include discharge preparation, pain control, responsiveness to concerns, emotional support and involvement in decision making. Sicker patients have greater needs related to their care."

A Dying Physician And The Meaning Of Care WBUR And such is her commitment to the doctor-patient relationship, and to public engagement in medicine, that she agreed to an email exchange with me. Twitter led me to Dr.

'Choosing Wisely' campaign aims to curb overuse of certain tests and treatments Portland Business Journal (blog) "The point of Choosing Wisely is not that you should never do this, but the physician and patient should have a conversation about it...

The authors show that eye contact and social touch are significantly related to patient perceptions of clinician empathy.

..The relationship between nonverbal behaviors and patient perceptions of clinicians has been underexplored. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between nonverbal communication behaviors (eye contact and social touch) to patient assessments of clinician (empathy, connectedness, and liking). Methods: Hypotheses were tested including clinician and patient nonverbal behaviors (eye contact, social touch) were coded temporally in 110 videotaped clinical encounters. Patient participants completed questionnaires to measure their perception of clinician empathy, connectedness with clinician, and how much they liked their clinician. Results: Length of visit and eye contact between clinician and patient were positively related to the patient’s assessment of the clinician’s empathy...

It appears that people feel competent to take on a greater role in shared decision making, self-diagnosis or assessment of symptoms, and information collecting on conditions – even before seeing the doctor.

Here are the key ways an organization can help you in your health decisions through health literacy:

The health care organization

Health literate organizations support informed patient engagement as part of their mission. Every member of the organization commits to making this mission come alive. Leaders of the organization create policies that protect all patients from unnecessary misunderstanding. Using your feedback, they continually evaluate how well they are serving you. They are always ready to improve how their organizations do business so patients' needs are met.

Self-management support

Your providers won't assume you understand your treatment plan or how to use your medications. Instead, they'll assume you may be at risk of not understanding. You'll be asked to explain your care in your words so that the provider knows that you truly "get it" before you leave the facility.

Delivery system design

The organization designs your care with the utmost respect for the central role you play in your own health.

Decision support

In a health literate organization, decision making about your care options is shared between you and your provider team.

Clinical information systems

Your care is monitored, and coordinated for you, electronically so that you receive informed, consistent care, even when you visit different providers.

Community partners

Your providers will provide information about community resources that can help you manage your health condition and prevent disease outside of the clinic setting.

The Health Literate Care Model guides a health care experience that ensures you are an informed member of your health care team. Let us honor Health Literacy Month by emphasizing that your informed involvement can make good health a reality.

Patient engagement is currently the holy grail of medical practice marketing. Far more than just a trendy buzzword, ‘engagement’ has not only mushroomed into one of the leading topics for spoken and written content, but it also lends itself to multiple meanings. Opportunists use it across a wide range of constituents and agendas, from social media marketing to database systems. So why is patient engagement so important, and how does content marketing help to achieve it?

Why We Need Engagement

Healthcare is expensive, both for patients and for the authorities. Research shows that patients who are actively involved in their healthcare are significantly more likely to practice positive health behaviour, resulting in better health outcomes. Case studies show patient engagement delivers dramatic results, such as:

40% reduction in emergency room consultations20% to 35% reduction in hospital admissions86% patient satisfaction47% increase in the number of patients meeting cholesterol goals

This reduces the cost to all parties, minimises patients’ discomfort and increases both the length and the quality of their lives.

Disengagement Dilemma

Research by Deloitte shows that 1 in 2 patients are disengaged and prefer to follow a passive healthcare approach. In spite of having access to technology such as patient portals, less than 10% of patients actually use these online tools. They rely heavily on doctors to make all their medical decisions while they take no initiative to manage their own health.

Why Content Marketing Helps

It all comes down to conversation. In the healthcare service industry, we’re talking to real people about real issues that affect their lives. Content educates, informs, and promotes conversation; all these processes lead to patient engagement. If you want your patients to join the conversation, you have to give them a reason to do so, and that’s where content marketing comes in. Not just any content, either; it has to be content your patients can really relate to.

Story Telling Makes the Point

Mankind has always loved story telling. Since the beginning of time, we’ve gathered around fires while elders told stories that carried important messages for humanity. And it’s no different today. You just have to look around at the millions of books, films and television series available - most of which have an identifiable moral message of some sort. Stories are shared, discussed and reproduced in other formats. Stories evoke emotion, they encourage the reader to go along for the journey. In other words, they engage.

Getting it Right

It’s one thing to say it and another to get it right, though. Far too often, healthcare marketers try to wrap their business points in a story and get it wrong. The story has to do the following to work:

Reveal something personal.Take patients on a journey that offers a transformation between the beginning and the end.Tap into an emotion, such as fear, desire or hope to motivate the patient to act.

In healthcare you’re marketing to people, not to numbers or companies. You need to understand your target audience thoroughly, draw on a variety of resources and produce material that can inform, guide and inspire creative solutions. That’s the only way it will deliver the desired impact.

The figures quoted justify implementing patient engagement by any means. You can do it by altering your mindset to focus on patients as people, telling their stories in ways that are meaningful and that help to educate them on the importance of health management.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.